Dubai – MENA Herald: Emirates Islamic, one of the leading Islamic financial institutions in the UAE, and Natixis, a leading financial institution headquartered in France, today announced the completion of a US$50 million Collateralised Murabaha deal on the Nasdaq Dubai Murabaha Platform.

As the largest collateralised Murabaha transaction closed by Emirates Islamic this year, and the first of its kind executed on the pioneering Nasdaq Dubai Murabaha Platform, the facility arranged by Natixis further demonstrates Emirates Islamic’s ability to successfully partner with renowned international banks to deliver leading Islamic financing solutions.

Jamal Bin Ghalaita, Chief Executive Officer of Emirates Islamic, said, “The completion of the US$50 million Murabaha with Natixis represents a new landmark for Emirates Islamic and sets a compelling precedent for other financial institutions considering Shari’a-compliant financing. Emirates Islamic’s role in founding the Nasdaq Dubai Murabaha Platform, and the subsequent application of its leading services, is a prime example of how the bank is spearheading innovation in the sector. The successful completion of deals with international partners such as Natixis will ensure Dubai remains a vanguard in the global Islamic economy.

Emirates Islamic will continue to explore attractive business opportunities and demonstrate industry leadership by adhering to a proven approach of combining technology, commercial acumen and ethics underpinned by Shari’a principles.”

Simon Eedle, Managing Director & Regional Head Middle East of Natixis, added, “We are delighted to complete this ground-breaking Murabaha transaction with Emirates Islamic, which represents a first for Natixis through the Nasdaq Dubai Murabaha Platform. Islamic financing is becoming increasingly important at Natixis, and arranging this Murabaha facility in such an efficient manner further demonstrates Natixis’ capacity to partner with a leading Islamic Bank to deliver innovative Islamic solutions and illustrates the evolving nature of the Islamic economy. Today, Islamic banks are successfully integrating modern technologies to augment traditional Shari’a-compliant financing structures. We look forward to partnering with Emirates Islamic again in the future.”

A joint initiative between Nasdaq Dubai and Emirates Islamic, Nasdaq Dubai’s Murabaha platform provides a unique solution for banks and other financial institutions, and their corporate and individual customers, to conduct Shari’a-compliant transactions in a streamlined, flexible and transparent manner. The efficiency with which Emirates Islamic’s deal with Natixis was concluded is anticipated to entice other financial institutions to further leverage the ground-breaking Nasdaq Dubai platform.

Hamed Ali, Chief Executive of Nasdaq Dubai, said: “This substantial transaction underlines the growing appeal of the Nasdaq Dubai Murabaha Platform to international as well as regional participants. Since its launch in 2014, the platform has expanded significantly both in the value of certificates transferred and the number of participants, and we expect this trend to continue for financial institutions as well as corporate and individual users. By facilitating fast and reliable transactions, we provide an effective and convenient facility in a regional time zone.”

The Nasdaq Dubai Murabaha platform offers significant advantages over alternative Murabaha channels such as fixed price certificates with no spread. The platform can be used equally to help a company raise capital to expand, or an individual for personal finance. The platform utilizes Shari’a-compliant Certificates that are held in Nasdaq Dubai’s Central Securities Depository (CSD). The Certificates represent an undivided ownership interest in a pool of Shari’a-compliant assets such as, but not limited to, Sukuk, Private Equity and Real-Estate.